MMQB (cont.)

The Fine Fifteen

1. Green Bay (1-0). Read my short piece in the magazine this coming week, and see how Aaron Rodgers will try to make 12 skill players happy. On an all-for-one team, I like his chances.

2. Baltimore (1-0). I have a feeling I'll be considering Terrell Suggs one day for Canton -- one of several Ravens we'll have to pass judgment on.

3. New England (0-0). Haven't won a Super Bowl in seven seasons. Proverbial window's closing.

4. Chicago (1-0). Don't see how a team can be more impressive than the Bears were Sunday, and they'll give the Pack a run if they can keep Jay Cutler relatively clean.

5. Philadelphia (1-0). LeSean McCoy in St. Louis: 15 carries for 122 yards. Just the tonic to keep the pressure off Mike Vick.

6. Houston (1-0). A quantum jump for the perennially disappointing men of Bob McNair. But it looks like they can play a little defense.

7. Detroit (1-0). I agree with Matthew Stafford: Good teams win games on the road when they make mistakes. That was Detroit Sunday in Tampa.

8. New York Jets (1-0). Love the way they play for 60 minutes. Didn't love the way they played for 45 against the Cowboys.

9. Buffalo (1-0). As Bill Parcells says, "I go by what I see.'' And the Bills handled Kansas City, on the road, in all phases.

10. Atlanta (0-1). See number 9.

11. San Diego (1-0). Another kick return for touchdown against the Chargers ... 15 seconds into the season, for crying out loud. This special teams thing is like a fungus. The Chargers can't stop it from growing.

12. New Orleans (0-1). Still bullish on the Saints. But that defense has to find some answers.

13. Pittsburgh (0-1). A wise Chinese philosopher once said: "Give the Steelers a mulligan. No way they're that bad. They'll never turn it over again seven times in a game in the next 10 years.''

14. Washington (1-0). They beat a battered New York Giants team, but two good signs: They didn't get overrun by a good running game, and Rex Grossman was a star.

15. Tampa Bay (0-1). I've got to believe that defensive front is better than it showed Sunday. If it isn't, Tampa's going to have to score 30 a game to make the playoffs.

Quote of the Week I

"The whole thing about ghosts and demons and monkeys, that stuff is not real to us. This was a football game.''

-- Baltimore coach John Harbaugh, after the Ravens exorcised something or other in their rout of the Steelers in Baltimore.

Quote of the Week II

"It felt good to know I could go out there and play lights out.''

-- Eagles quarterback Michael Vick, after going 14 of 32 and rushing for 98 yards in the decisive victory at St. Louis.

No problem with Vick being excited at how he played. And stats are never everything. But competing 44 percent of one's throws isn't exactly playing lights out. Vick, though, had a very good, impactful game.

Quote of the Week III

"It's incredibly humbling which, obviously, we needed at this point. It'll be interesting to see how we persevere. This is a big step towards humility.''

-- Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamalu, after the Steelers' worst loss in 14 years. Strange quote. The Steelers needed to be humbled? Not sure that's a very good sign for them.

Quote of the Week IV

"I want the country of Sept. 12th again, when everybody came together. We said we'd never forget and now we can live up to it."

-- Jon Bon Jovi, New Jersey resident, to Larry Neumeister of the Associated Press, on this solemn occasion of the 10th anniversary of the towers going down.